Trouble in Portland
by millstone1005
Summary: [Complete] What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.1 'The Distance' ?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

Author's Notes: AU for_ The Distance_. Takes placeright after Ryan gets the call from Theresa telling him that she lost the baby.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

On Sunday, Ryan was playing video hockey with Luke when Mr. Ward called him to the phone. He handed the video game controller to Seth and took the phone. It was Theresa. She had some bad news. Ryan was stunned. After hanging up, he went back into the living room.

_"Hey, everything all right?"_

_"Theresa lost the baby."_

Ryan headed to the guest room that he was staying in. He went in and shut the door. He was upset and wanted to be alone, but almost immediately, Seth came in and sat down on the bed next to him. Seth obviously wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to do or what to say. He ended up just patting Ryan on the back for a moment. Ryan didn't want to kick Seth out, but he would really rather be alone to deal with his emotions.

After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Seth finally got the hint.

"OK, well, if you need to talk, I just wanted you to know that I'm here. Anytime, man."

Ryan managed to give Seth a little smile. "Thanks."

Seth gave Ryan a little uncertain nod, then went out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Ryan let out a sigh of relief. He reached over on the bed and grabbed all of those pillows and moved them out of the way so that he could lie down. In spite of everything, Ryan had to smile to himself a little about those pillows. You'd think a woman did the decorating of this place.

Once the bed was clear, Ryan lay down on his back and stared at the ceiling. He was trying hard not to break down because he figured that either Luke or his Dad would be the next one to come into the room to try and comfort him.

True to form, after a couple of minutes, there was a soft knock on the door and Ryan heard Mr. Ward's voice call softly, "Ryan? Can I come in?"

Ryan sighed and sat up. "Yeah, come in."

Mr. Ward came in and sat on the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath and looked at Ryan.

"Seth and Luke said that you'd probably want to be alone right now, but I just wanted you to know that I'm here if you want to talk."

Ryan nodded, although he wasn't planning on talking to Luke's Dad about this.

Mr. Ward continued, "I... I know that I wouldn't know exactly how you'd be feeling, but... I did go through something similar."

Ryan raised his eyebrows. This was new.

"After Meredith and I had Luke, she got pregnant again the following year. She had a miscarriage right before the end of the first trimester. It was going to be a little girl..."

Mr. Ward looked away, lost in thought.

"I'm sorry."

Mr. Ward looked back at Ryan and gave him a sad little smile. "Thank you." He cleared his throat. "So if you want to talk..."

"Thanks."

Luke's Dad nodded to Ryan, patted him on the leg, and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ryan sighed, again, and lay back down on the bed and went back to staring up at the ceiling. He could feel the tears forming in his eyes again, and this time he gave in to them.

That baby had meant everything to him. He had given up his life, his future, in Newport with the Cohens to make sure that the baby didn't have to grow up the way he did. It didn't matter if the baby was his or not. He couldn't let Eddie be that kid's father. Even if it meant that he'd have to be a high school dropout, work at a construction job that he hated, and be stuck in a relationship with a girl that he didn't love.

Ryan turned onto his side, facing away from the door, just in case Luke decided to be the next one to come in.

The final straw was Theresa telling him not to come back. It was just like his mother all over again. He had been kicked out of another house in Chino, in the same neighborhood, by a woman who was supposed to care about him, love him even.

At this point, the tears were flowing freely down his face, and he just let them come.

After an hour or so of crying on and off, Ryan made an effort to pull himself together.

He turned over and checked the clock. It was close to the time that he was supposed to be leaving to go to the airport to fly back to California. Ryan rolled on his back and stared back up at the ceiling. He tried to imagine going back there and couldn't. He didn't have anything to go back to. Since Theresa kicked him out, he was homeless, again.

Ryan tried to imagine keeping his job at the construction company. It paid pretty well. If he kept it, he could afford to live on his own. He shuddered at the thought. He hated that job. It was one thing when he had to support Theresa and the baby, but now...

Ryan sat up in bed. He couldn't stay here a minute longer. He didn't want to face Seth or Luke or Mr. Ward. And -- he just wanted to get drunk and forget for a while that this ever happened.

Ryan got up and put on his shoes and hooded sweatshirt, over his t-shirt and jeans. Then he grabbed his wallet and left the bedroom. He stopped in the hallway and listened carefully to see if he could tell where everyone was. It sounded like Seth and Luke were playing video games in the living room. He didn't know where Luke's Dad was, but he figured if he went the other way, he'd probably not run into anybody.

Ryan snuck out the other way, out the front door, and he was right. Nobody saw him, or if they did, they didn't try to stop him. After shutting the front door carefully behind him, Ryan took a deep breath of cool fresh air and headed out. He remembered seeing a bus stop down on the main road when he was in the cab on his way here from the airport yesterday. Ryan headed for it.

* * *

Half an hour later, Seth went over to Ryan's room door and knocked quietly. "Ryan? Hey, man, time to get ready to go to the airport."

Seth waited a moment. When he didn't hear anything, he opened the door slowly. "Ryan?"

Seth was surprised when Ryan wasn't there, and his shoes and jacket were missing. _Great_. At least his duffle bag was still there, so Seth knew that Ryan didn't already head for the airport on his own, and he didn't leave for good. He'd be back.

Seth didn't think that Ryan would just be in the bathroom, but he checked there anyway. And he was right, it was empty. Seth took a deep breath and headed out to the living room to let Luke and his Dad know that Ryan had snuck out.

* * *

To be continued. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

Author's Notes: AU for_ The Distance_. Takes placeright after Ryan gets the call from Theresa telling him that she lost the baby.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

At the bus stop, Ryan just got on the first bus that stopped. He didn't know the bus numbers or bus routes in Portland, but he figured that most city buses would probably eventually end up downtown. And he was right. When the bus got downtown, Ryan got off and looked around. It looked like your normal big city. There would be no way that he'd be able to buy alcohol at his age in this part of town -- it was too respectable. He'd need to get to the lower-income areas and find a party, or a liquor store that didn't care about your age.

So Ryan bought himself a Coke and sat on a bench near the bus stop for a while, drinking and watching the people getting on and off the busses. He was looking in particular for people who looked like they were working class people, to see what numbered bus they got on and off of. He figured that bus route would probably be taking them to/from home, to the working class neighborhoods.

Ryan was a little surprised that nobody bothered him the entire time that he sat there. No homeless people came up asking for change. No cops stopped by and told him to move on. He guessed he looked harmless enough.

After Ryan finished his Coke, he got on the next bus that stopped which sported the number that he had identified as going to the lower income neighborhoods.

Ryan sat on the bus and looked out the window and watched the neighborhoods go by -- the downtown business district became upper class areas, became middle class areas, became working class areas. Ryan got off in a suitable looking working class neighborhood. He noticed that with what he was wearing and how he looked, he fit right in. Not that it was unexpected. After all, he had just been living a working class life in Chino for the last three months, and he'd grown up that way.

Ryan wandered around for a while, looking for a party that he could crash. A party was better than a liquor store because the booze was free. While Ryan did have some cash, he didn't have a lot, so free was definitely preferred. Even though it was Sunday, Ryan knew in these types of neighborhoods, any day was fair game for a party.

And he wasn't disappointed. Shortly after dark, Ryan found what he was looking for -- a rockin' house party in a lower class neighborhood with loud music, free flowing beer, and people spilling out all over the front and back yards. Nobody would notice one more kid.

Ryan walked in like he belonged there, and nobody gave him a second look. To tell the truth, that was kind of depressing, that he fit in so well. Ryan headed for the keg and poured himself a beer, and then another, and another. Later, he found the bar with vodka, gin, anything you'd want.

* * *

"Dad, we can't call the cops."

Carson hesitated with the phone in his hands.

Seth saw that and jumped in to back up Luke. "You know about his probation, right?"

"Yes."

"Right, so if the cops pick him up..."

Carson reluctantly put down the phone. Luke and Seth shared a look of relief.

Carson looked at the boys and tried to explain himself. "It's just... it's so late, and Ryan doesn't know Portland --"

Seth jumped in. "Don't worry about Ryan, Mr. Ward. He can take care of himself."

Now Luke backed Seth up. "Yeah, Dad, he'll be back, maybe not until tomorrow, but... he'll be fine."

Carson sighed. "OK. But if he's not back by tomorrow morning, I'm going to have to do something."

Luke and Seth nodded their agreement.

* * *

By the time that Ryan stumbled out of the party, it was very late. He was quite drunk and he knew that he'd be passing out pretty soon. He wanted to try and get back to Luke's house before that happened. He headed out looking for a bus stop. A couple of streets over from the house party was a more business-like area with stores and stuff, although everything was closed by now, even the bars.

Ryan found a bus stop and collapsed on the bench to wait. He didn't know how long he'd have to wait. He didn't even know if city busses ran this time of night, or early morning really. While he waited, he wasn't feeling so well, so he lay down on the bench on his back and closed his eyes. He could feel himself about to pass out. He didn't think he'd make it back to Luke's.

The next thing he knew, he heard a car pulling up next to him and a bright light was shining in his face. He moved his arm to cover his eyes.

"Kid, kid, come on, sit up."

Ryan felt a pair of hands pushing him into a sitting position. He opened his eyes to see two cops and a police car in front of him. _Great._ He closed his eyes again. He was _really_ about to pass out.

A hand was shaking Ryan's shoulder. "Hey, what's your name, kid?"

Ryan cracked his eyes open a little. He licked his lips. "Ryan Atwood."

"How old are you, Ryan?"

"Sixteen." Ryan shut his eyes again.

"What did you take?" More shaking. "Ryan, what did you take?"

Ryan opened his eyes and looked at the cop who was talking to him, confused.

"Drugs. What drugs did you take?"

Ryan shook his head. "No drugs."

"Kid, you're obviously high..."

Ryan shook his head, again. "No drugs. Beer. Vodka. Gin..."

Argh. Ryan closed his eyes again. All this shaking was killing his head. He put his head back and promptly passed out.

* * *

Bill, the rookie cop, shook Ryan's shoulder again, trying to get him to wake up. "Kid! Kid!"

"Give it up, Bill, he's passed out."

Bill stopped. He looked at his more senior partner, John. "Do you think he was telling the truth? That he's just drunk?"

John leaned forward and smelled Ryan's breath. And checked his pulse.

"Well, he does smell like alcohol. And his pulse is steady. We can also search him, see if he has any drugs on him, and check for needle marks or traces of cocaine, stuff like that."

So they proceeded to do that and didn't find any traces of drugs. They did find Ryan's wallet, with a modest amount of cash and a California driver's license.

Bill read from the license. "Ryan Atwood. Age 16. Well, he was telling the truth about that. It says here that he lives in Chino, California."

"Maybe he just moved. Check the back for a new address."

Bill checked. "Nope. Do you think he's a runaway?"

John looked Ryan over. "He doesn't look like he lives on the streets. Too clean. If he is a runaway, he hasn't been here for long."

Bill looked Ryan over, too. "He looks like he could live in this neighborhood."

John nodded his agreement.

Bill had already learned that normally when they'd find drunk teenagers, they'd take them home and let their parents deal with them, and with runaways or street kids they'd hand them over to Child Protective Services. But in this case, Bill wasn't sure what the procedure should be.

"So what do we do now, hand him over to CPS?"

John shook his head. "Nah. Not yet. If he does live here, that would cause all kinds of trouble for his parents. We'll just take him to the station and let him sleep it off there. The day shift tomorrow will deal with finding his parents or handing him over to CPS."

Bill nodded his understanding. The two cops proceeded to pick Ryan up and put him in their car and take him to the station.

* * *

To be continued. 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

Author's Notes: AU for_ The Distance_. Takes placeright after Ryan gets the call from Theresa telling him that she lost the baby.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

A couple hours after passing out, Ryan found himself starting to wake up, a little anyway. He turned over and realized that he was lying on a bunk. He opened his eyes and looked around for a moment. What he saw caused him to close them again. _Great_. He was in a jail cell, again. At least he was alone. And it was quiet. He was safe. He curled up and went back to sleep.

A couple hours later, Ryan found himself having to roll off the bunk and crawl over to the toilet as fast as possible, so that he could throw up. Afterwards, he was able to stand up, shakily, and wash off his face and rinse out his mouth in the sink before collapsing back on the bunk again. As he curled up and went back to sleep, again, he found himself grateful that the cell was so small that the toilet and sink were close enough to get to quickly.

A couple of hours after that, Ryan was a little more awake and was feeling a little better. He didn't feel like he needed to throw up any more, but he did have a killer headache. He wasn't asleep -- he was resting on the bunk with his eyes closed. He was trying to remember what happened last night. He remembered fully Theresa's call yesterday. He remembered going out and finding a house party. He remembered intending to get drunk. He remembered drinking a lot. Everything after that, until he woke up here in this cell was pretty much gone.

Which wasn't great because then he didn't know what he was under arrest for, and if he couldn't remember whatever it was that he did, he couldn't tell his side of the story. He could possible be totally screwed, here.

Ryan had already studied the cell he was in and figured that he was in a police station, rather than juvenile detention. Not that he'd been in either place in Portland, but he had been in both in Chino and in Newport Beach, and this place just looked more like a police station holding cell than a juvie jail cell. It was a tiny single-person cell with a solid door, not bars. He wasn't sure exactly what it meant that he was still at the police station. Maybe he'd just been arrested too late at night to be transported over.

When Ryan heard the unmistakable sound of the cell door being unlocked, his eyes popped open and he quickly moved into a sitting position, sitting on the bunk in the corner against the wall. He waited. He was kind of relieved when he saw that it was a woman police officer. She was kind of middle aged and was looking at him in a motherly way. She was by herself and she left the door open behind her. Obviously she wasn't wary of him. Which was good. That meant he probably wasn't under arrest for doing something violent.

As the policewoman walked in, she held out a glass of water and something else she had in her other hand.

"I brought you some aspirin, kid. I figured you're probably pretty hung over after everything that you had to drink last night."

Ryan gave her a little smile. "Thanks."

Ryan took the two aspirin tablets and glass from her and swallowed the aspirin. He looked at her uniform, and her nametag said "Officer Marge Simpson". He tried hard to hide a smile. He figured she probably heard a lot of jokes and didn't need to hear any more.

She sat down on the other end of the bunk and took out a small notepad and pen from her pocket.

"I'm going to need to ask you some questions, Ryan."

"OK, but um... can I ask you --" Ryan gestured around at the cell.

"Why you're here?"

Ryan nodded.

"What do you remember about last night?"

"Um... I got drunk..."

"And?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Well, you'll probably be relieved to hear that you aren't under arrest, not officially. A couple of our officers found you drunk at the bus stop and you passed out soon afterwards. They would have taken you home, but your driver's license said you were from California, so they brought you here to sleep it off. But we can't let you go until we find a parent or guardian or some other responsible adult to release you to. Otherwise, we'll have to give you to Child Protective Services."

Ryan nodded. That was good news. Hopefully if he wasn't really under arrest, that means that this little encounter with the law wouldn't be on his record and wouldn't affect his probation in California. Ryan was hoping that they didn't know about his probation here in Oregon.

Officer Simpson lifted up her pen. "OK, so, you live in California?"

"Yes." The Officer wrote that down.

"What are you doing in Portland?"

"Visiting friends."

"Did you come up here by yourself?"

"Yes." More writing.

"Your parents know you're here?"

"Um... I have guardians, and yes, they know I'm here."

"What are you guardians' names?"

"Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. C-O-H-E-N" She wrote that down, too.

"They live in Chino?"

"No, they live in Newport Beach... California."

"Address and phone number?"

Ryan gave them to her and she wrote them down.

"These friends that you are visiting -- is there a adult there who would be willing to take responsibility for you?" She smiled. "Eighteen-year-old friends don't count. We need like a parent or a guardian."

Ryan smiled back. "Um... yeah. My friend Luke's father." At least Ryan hoped that he'd get him out...

"What's his name, address, phone number."

"Carson Ward. W-A-R-D. I have their home address and phone number, but -- this is Monday, right? -- I don't have his work phone number or cell number, so..."

"Just give me what you have and we'll track him down."

"OK." Ryan gave her the Wards' home address and phone number and she wrote them down.

"Anything else I should know?"

Ryan shrugged.

Officer Simpson put her notebook away. "OK. Hang tight here and I'll let you know if Mr. Ward agrees to come get you."

Ryan gave her a half smile. "Do I have a choice?"

She smiled back. "No."

* * *

To be continued. 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"OK, boys, now I definitely have to call the police."

Carson was really getting worried about Ryan. It was 9 O'clock in the morning and he still wasn't back.

Luke still wanted to protect Ryan. "Wait a minute, Dad. Don't you have that guy that you met last month who works for the police department?"

"You mean Jack?"

"Yeah, him. Can't you call him and ask him to look into it, unofficially?"

"Um... I guess I could..."

Seth agreed. "Yeah, if you could... Please?"

Carson sighed. "All right, I'll give that a try, but if he can't find Ryan pretty quickly, I'm going to have to go the official route."

The boys nodded reluctantly.

Carson regarded both boys for a moment. "Aren't you both due at work, like... now?"

Seth and Luke looked at each other. Luke answered his father. "Yeah, but..."

"Go to work, both of you." When they both looked like they were about to protest, he added. "You both agree that Ryan is probably all right. I don't know how long this will take. I'll call and let you know when he gets back or when I find him. Go."

They reluctantly agreed and headed off to work. Once they were gone, Carson sighed with relief that he didn't have to deal with them hovering over him while he looked for Ryan. First Carson called into his secretary at his new Lexus dealership that he had opened a couple of months ago here in Portland and told her that he had a family situation and he'd be in when he could. Then he went to his little black book and found Jack's number and dialed it.

"Portland Police Department. Jack Carter speaking."

"Hi, Jack? It's Carson. I don't know if you remember me..."

"Carson? Of course..."

"Um... I hate to do this, but I need a favor."

Jack laughed. "What can I do for you?"

"A friend of my son's is visiting from California, and he took off last night and hasn't been back..."

"Ah, and you'd like me to see if he's been picked up by the department."

"If you could, that would be great."

"Sure, I'll just check the computer. What's his name?"

"Ryan Atwood. A-T-W-O-O-D. He's sixteen."

"Just a second."

Carson waited on the line impatiently. It took longer than a second...

"Carson?"

"Jack? Anything?"

"Good news, I think."

"You found him?"

"He was picked up by officers in precinct 4 last night -- that's in one of the worse sections of the city -- anyway, he was drunk, so they took him to the precinct to sleep it off. He's not under arrest, but they'd need a parent or guardian to release him to."

"Would they release him to me? His guardians are at home in California."

"Sure, if you're willing to take responsibility for him."

"I am. Do you have the number over there?"

"Sure." Jack gave him the number and Carson wrote it down.

"Thanks so much, Jack. How can I repay you?"

"How about that second date?"

* * *

After trying to reach Carson Ward on the phone with no success, Officer Simpson decided to check in on Ryan. She grabbed a bottle of OJ from the fridge on the way.

When she opened the cell door, Ryan was lying on the bunk. He looked completely relaxed and maybe even half asleep. He turned his head to look at her when she opened the door.

"Hey."

"Hi, brought you some orange juice. How are you feeling?"

Ryan sat up half way on the bunk and reached out to take the bottle from her. "Better, although the aspirin didn't help much."

"Want something to eat?" She had to smile when his only answer was a groan. "Didn't think so, but you should make sure you drink enough fluids so you don't get dehydrated."

Ryan nodded.

Marge watched Ryan while he drank his OJ. She couldn't help but think that this kid was a little unusual. The first time she came in, he was sitting on the bunk as far away from the door as possible, all tensed up, which was pretty normal for a kid in his situation. This time, though, he was acting like he was in his own bedroom at home, with the caveat that he was locked in, of course. He was way too relaxed for a sixteen year old who just spent the night in a holding cell. And he wasn't even complaining about having to be locked in when he wasn't even really under arrest, which was standard operating procedure.

Some of his attitude, Marge was sure, could be explained by his personality, or the fact that he was hung over and all he wanted to do anyway this morning was lie in bed. But her years of experience as a police officer dealing with juveniles told her that there was another reason. He had done this before, probably more than once. She had, of course, run his name through the computer, but that only covered Oregon. They didn't have access to juvenile records from other states without a subpoena, and since Ryan was from California...

Marge idly wondered if she asked Ryan about it, if he would tell her. He struck her as basically a good and honest kid, and she thought that maybe he would. Which is why she wouldn't ask. If she knew he was for example on probation in another state, and did something in this state that would violate that probation, she was duty bound to notify that other state, and she didn't want to do that to Ryan. In the short time that she'd known him, she liked him already.

"Officer Simpson?"

Marge realized that Ryan was talking to her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Any news?"

"No, I haven't been able to get in touch with Mr. Ward yet, his line at home is busy. But I'll keep trying."

"Thanks." He handed her the empty OJ bottle. "And thanks for this."

Marge nodded by way of a _you're welcome_.

"Um... are you going to call the Cohens?"

"Your guardians? Yes, I am, but I haven't yet."

Marge had to smile when that answer elicited another groan. "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad. They'll just be glad that you're all right."

Ryan shrugged.

Marge gave him a smile and turned to leave.

"Um..."

Marge turned around. "Yes?"

"This is probably none of my business, but... do you have kids?"

Marge chuckled at that. She got asked that by 'her kids' all the time. Someone told her once that she gave off motherly vibes that the kids picked up on.

"Yes, I have two sons. They're in college now."

Ryan gave her a little smile and a nod. Marge nodded back before heading out the door.

* * *

To be continued. 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

After Officer Simpson left, Ryan went back to lying on his back on the bunk, staring at the ceiling.

He'd been lying there thinking about how his little plan last night to forget everything by drinking didn't work at all. Now he was stuck here, and all he could do was think. Not just because he was locked in a little room with nothing to do, but also because he had this killer hangover headache which wouldn't have allowed him to do pretty much anything except lie in bed anyway.

Ryan turned on his side to stare at the wall.

It was inevitable -- every time he let his mind wander, it always directed him down a path that led back to the two things he didn't want to think about -- Theresa and the baby.

He started thinking about how pissed Sandy would be at him for getting drunk and picked up by the police, which led him to thinking that he'd be more understanding with his own son, which led him right back to the baby.

He started thinking about he should know better than to think that drinking would help, given his mother's history, which led him back to how Theresa threw him out just like his Mom did.

Even when he asked the policewoman if she had kids, it reminded him of his own kid that now he wasn't going to have.

It was hopeless.

Ryan sighed and turned over to stare at the other wall.

It was so strange. Just a couple of days ago, he was the man of the house, working to support his own family -- his girlfriend and their child on the way -- and now, today, he was back to being the kid, worried about Sandy yelling at him, wondering if Sandy was going to ground him. That is, assuming that he was going back to Newport once he got out of here -- which he supposed he would, since he had nowhere else to go.

Ryan sighed again and closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

Sandy Cohen, attorney extraordinaire, was just starting his day at the prestigious private law firm of Partridge, Savage, and Kahn, reading the facts about yet another petty nuisance lawsuit and drinking his coffee, when his cell phone started to ring. He checked the caller ID. It didn't identify the caller by name, but it did display a phone number with an area code in Portland. Sandy smiled. Hopefully this was Seth, saying that _yes_ he did want to come home after all. Hey, a father can dream.

Sandy flipped his cell phone open. "Hello?"

A woman's voice asked him, "Is this Sandy Cohen?"

"Speaking."

"Mr. Cohen, this is Officer Marge Simpson of the Portland Police --"

Sandy sat bolt upright. "Oh, my god. Is it my son Seth? Is he hurt? Is he OK?"

"Mr. Cohen, this isn't about your son Seth." Sandy breathed a sigh of relief, for about 2 seconds, because the policewoman continued, "Are you the legal guardian of Ryan Atwood?"

Sandy's heart sank. There was no way that a call from the police about Ryan could be good news. Not to mention that Sandy had figured that Ryan would have flown back to Chino yesterday so that he could go to work today. It bothered Sandy more than a little that he had no idea where Ryan was, until this moment.

So Sandy replied, with some trepidation, "Yes?" Then he cleared his throat and said, more strongly, "I mean, yes, yes I am. Is he hurt? Or is he under arrest? Or --"

"Ryan is not hurt nor is he under arrest." Sandy breathed another sigh of relief, which again was short-lived. "However, he was picked up last night by two of our officers. He was passed out from drinking, so he spent the night in one of our holding cells at the station here so he could sleep it off."

Sandy sank back into his very expensive high-tech office chair. "He was drunk?"

"Yes, sir. I am notifying you as his legal guardian. I realize that you are in California. Normally I would have you or your wife come down, and we would release him into your custody --"

Sandy felt some hope come back. "So you're not keeping him?"

"No, but we are holding him for now. We need an adult to take responsibility for him before we can release him. Ryan gave me the name of a friend's father that I've been trying to reach -- Carson Ward."

"Good, good. Carson is a good man, a friend of mine. He'll take responsibility for Ryan. You haven't been able to reach him?"

"Not yet. Ryan gave me his home phone number, but it has been busy."

"I can give you his cell phone number. Would that help?"

"Yes, sir, that would be helpful."

After Sandy gave the officer Carson's cell phone number, she surprised him by saying, "Mr. Cohen, do you mind if I say something of a personal nature?"

"Um... certainly, go ahead."

"I've gotten to know Ryan a little bit this morning here, and I just wanted to say that, in my professional opinion, he's basically a good kid. I think he knows that he did the wrong thing last night. I think if he can stay out of trouble, he could have a bright future ahead of him."

"Thank you, officer. Thank you for saying that."

After Sandy hung up with the Portland Police officer, he was relieved that Ryan wasn't under arrest and would get released as soon as Carson got there. But mixed in with the relief was anger. Sandy could feel himself getting more and more angry -- at Ryan. He agreed with everything that Officer Simpson said about Ryan, but it was the "if he can stay out of trouble" part that worried him. That kid -- that kid -- well, he should know better than to go out and get drunk. He could think of quite a few words that he wanted to say to Ryan, when he got the chance.

Sandy tried to get his emotions under control so he could call Kirsten and give her the bad news.

* * *

Officer Simpson was just about to try calling Carson Ward's cell phone when a call was forwarded to her desk.

"Marge, there's a Carson Ward on the phone looking for a Ryan Atwood? He's one of your kids, right?"

Marge smiled. That made things easier. "Yes. Thank you, Doris. Put him through."

"Hello?"

"Officer Simpson? This is Carson Ward --"

"Yes, Mr. Ward. I've been trying to contact you --"

"Ryan's there? Is he all right?"

"Yes, he's fine. He's a little hung over, but that's to be expected. He got very drunk last night."

"But he's not under arrest?"

"No."

Marge could hear Mr. Ward sigh with relief on the other end of the phone.

She continued, "But we need a responsible adult to release him to. I have spoken to Ryan's legal guardian, Sandy Cohen, and he approves of you taking responsibility for Ryan. Are you willing to do that?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"If you could come down here and sign for him, we can release him into your custody."

"I'll be right there. Can you give me directions?"

"Of course."

Marge gave Carson Ward directions to the precinct house and then ended the call.

Marge smiled to herself. She loved happy endings. Kids coming in like this could go either way -- no adult in their life was willing to come for them, or they had loving parents who came right down. In this case, even a friend's father was willing to come. This was one lucky kid. Especially since apparently he'd already had some hardship in his life, since he wasn't living with his parents, but with guardians. And he seems to have gotten lucky in that department as well. In their short conversation, Marge could tell that Sandy Cohen cared very much about Ryan.

Marge headed off to the holding cells to let Ryan know the good news.

* * *

To be continued. 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Ryan turned his head towards the door when he heard the key in the lock. He expected it to be Officer Simpson, again. Who else would it be? She was the only one who had been in to talk to him. And he wasn't disappointed. But he was surprised when this time she shut the door behind her.

He sat up halfway and craned his neck to look around her at the door. He asked her, somewhat amused, "Did you just lock yourself in?"

"No, I have the key." Officer Simpson held out her right hand somewhat.

Ryan craned his head around a little more to get a better look at the door. He hadn't noticed before, but there was a small key hole there.

He gave her a mischievous smile. "But it's just you and me. I could like knock you out and take the key and get myself out of here."

Ryan had noticed that she didn't carry a gun or anything.

Officer Simpson smiled back. "Yeah, you could, but you wouldn't do that."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've been doing this for a long time, and I'm a good judge of people and I know you wouldn't."

She turned more serious and stepped forward to sit on the end of the bunk. She patted his foot. "Could you sit up for a minute, Ryan?"

Ryan looked at her, confused. "Sure."

Ryan scooted up on the bunk until he was up at the head of the bed and sat up with his back against the wall there, wondering what the Officer was up to.

"I have good news. I have spoken to Mr. Ward and he is on his way to pick you up. As soon as he signs for you, I can release you into his custody."

Ryan was relieved. "That's great."

"Well, it will still be a little while. He has to drive here from across town, and then we have to do the paperwork..."

Ryan nodded.

"I also spoke to Mr. Cohen."

Ryan looked down and played with his hands. "He's probably pissed at me, huh?"

"Yes, I would say so, but he was also worried about you."

Ryan nodded without looking up.

"I need you to listen to me for a second."

Ryan looked up at Officer Simpson, still not knowing what she was up to, but not liking how this sounded.

"Ryan, you have to stay out of trouble from now on. You've dodged a bullet here, this time. Next time, I couldn't say."

Ryan looked down, again. Yeah, he knew how lucky he was.

"I don't have access to your records from California, but I'm guessing that you've been through this before."

Ryan resisted the urge to confirm her suspicions.

"I suspect that you've had a rough time of it, but you're a smart kid and a good kid and if you stay out of trouble you could really have a bright future."

After a pause, Officer Simpson continued. "Mr. Cohen seems like a good man who really cares about you."

Ryan looked up at her. "Yeah, yeah, he is, he does."

"Well, then take my advice -- as a police officer -- listen to him, OK? Follow his rules, do what he tells you, let him guide you onto the right path. Be the good, smart kid that I know you have in you. Stop doing stupid things like you did last night. You don't want to be locked up again, right?"

Ryan didn't answer. He looked away. Of course she was right.

After a moment, Officer Simpson patted Ryan on the foot again. "OK. Well, you think about it, and I'll come get you when we're ready to release you."

Ryan watched her get up and unlock the door. Before she left, he told her, "Thanks."

She turned back and gave him a little smile and nod, and then she stepped out and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Carson was on his way to the police station in the showroom-new Lexus that he was driving that week from his dealership. As he got closer to his destination, he was more and more regretting his choice of vehicle. He had heard what his friend from the police department had said about Ryan getting picked up in one of the worse sections of the city, but he didn't really think about what that would mean. Well, nothing could happen to his car in the police parking lot, right?

When his cell phone rang, Carson used his hands-free headset to answer it. Although he couldn't see the caller ID while he was driving.

"Hello?"

"Carson? It's Sandy."

"Oh, Sandy, I was just about to call you --"

"That's all right, the police called me."

"Yes, that policewoman told me that she had talked to you, um, Officer ..." Carson was so bad with names.

"Simpson?"

"That's the one. I'm on my way to pick up Ryan now."

"Thanks, for taking responsibility for Ryan."

But Carson felt a little bit guilty. "I'm sorry, Sandy, I should have been watching him closer yesterday."

"Oh, Carson, it isn't your fault. They're teenagers. You can't stop them from doing what they want."

"But he was so upset --"

"Upset?"

_Oops._ "Sorry, I forgot that you didn't know."

"Know what?"

Carson took a deep breath. Ryan's girlfriend losing her baby had unexpectedly brought up sad memories for him about him and Meredith losing their second child. Maybe because it was a girl, and they now had the three boys, and Carson always wanted a little girl.

"Ryan's girlfriend called --"

"Theresa?"

"Yes, Theresa. She called yesterday and told Ryan that she had lost their baby."

"She told him that over the phone? Poor kid."

"There's more. She also told him not to come home."

"Ouch. That's harsh."

"Yeah. He was really upset. I tried to get him to talk to me, but..."

Sandy chuckled. "Yeah, trying to get Ryan to talk is not an easy task."

Carson had to smile, too. "Yeah."

Carson heard Sandy sigh. "Well, I guess maybe that explains a few things. Ryan doesn't usually drink very much."

Carson wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just said, "Hmm."

"Um, Carson, if you could do me another favor..."

"Sure."

"Even though Ryan may have had a reason for doing what he did, I can't let him get away with it, so... well... if he was home, I'd ground him..."

"You want me to ground him for you?"

"I know it is a lot to ask..."

"No problem, Sandy. In fact, I was just thinking that I wished he was mine so that I could ground him."

Sandy laughed. "Carson, I hereby give you the authority to ground the hell out of Ryan."

* * *

To be continued. 


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Once they got back to the house, Ryan told Carson, "I'm gonna go crash. Thanks -- for coming to get me."

Carson found himself a little surprised to hear Ryan's voice. Ryan hadn't said anything entire ride back from the police station. The only thing Carson had heard him say was back at the station. Just one word. He told the policewoman _thanks_. Then again, Carson himself hadn't said much, either. He wasn't sure what to say to this boy who wasn't his. And like Ryan, Carson wasn't really a talker. Carson smiled to himself. Put two non-talkers together, and what do you get? No talking.

But now that they were home, there was definitely a few things that Carson had to say to Ryan.

"Hold up for a second."

Ryan stopped and turned around to listen. Carson liked that about Ryan -- he always listened.

"Before you crawl into bed, I think you should take a shower and throw those clothes into the laundry basket." Carson gestured up and down at Ryan's dirty and slept-in clothes.

Ryan looked down at himself, then gave Carson a small embarrassed smile.

"Do you still have a hangover? There's Advil and stuff in the hall bathroom."

Ryan shook his head a little. "That's OK. The police gave me aspirin. It didn't really help, though."

Carson nodded. "Um... one more thing... you're grounded."

That got a reaction from Ryan. He looked straight at Carson's face and raised his eyebrows. "You're grounding me?"

"Well... I talked to Sandy. _He's_ grounding you. I'm just, you know, implementing it."

Carson watched as Ryan stood there for a second, blinking his eyes, like he was trying to process this information and didn't quite believe it.

"Look, Ryan, it's up to you if you want to respect my authority on this or not, but I did just tell the police that I'd be responsible for you. They did release you into _my_ custody."

Ryan raised his eyebrows again at hearing this, but then he looked down and nodded before heading down the hallway towards the bedroom and the bathroom.

Carson couldn't help but smile at that. Nothing like a little guilt to motivate a kid to do what you want.

After Ryan was gone, Carson grabbed the cordless phone and dialed Luke's cell phone. After four rings, it went to voice mail. Carson figured that Luke was probably busy with a customer or something, so he left a message.

"Hey, Luke, it's Dad. I just wanted to let you know that Ryan's back, safe and sound. He got drunk last night and got picked up by the police and spent the night in a holding cell. I had to go sign for him before they would release him. I hope this serves as a lesson to you, too, Luke. I don't ever want to get a call from the police to come get you, understood? Good. I'll see you and Seth for dinner. Bye."

After hanging up, Carson sighed. He hoped that worked. He knew that Luke drank, more than he should, and had gotten drunk on more than one occasion. Carson had talked to his son about his drinking before, but it never seemed to get through. Oh well, no point on dwelling on that now, he had work to do.

Carson spent the next half hour or so talking on the phone to his secretary and others at his dealership, answering questions and making decisions, and then on his computer working remotely.

Once he heard the shower go off, he gave Ryan a few minutes to dry off and get dressed while he packed up his briefcase to head in to work. He didn't really like leaving Ryan all alone, but he had to go in and get some work done. It was still a new business, and he was struggling a little getting it off the ground.

* * *

Ryan had just finished his shower, dried off, gotten into his night clothes, and climbed into bed when there was a knock on the door. It had to be Luke's Dad -- there was no one else at home, or at least Ryan didn't think Luke or Seth would be home since they should be working. Although he wouldn't really have heard them come home if they did while he was in the shower.

In either case, Ryan called out, "Come in."

As expected, it was Mr. Ward. Ryan sat up.

"Ryan, I'm heading off to work now, so you'll be here alone until Luke and Seth get off work at 5 O'clock. I put the Advil on the kitchen table if you want it. If you get hungry later, help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

"OK."

Mr. Ward paused for a moment, watching Ryan. "I can trust you to stay put here while I'm gone, right? And just so you know, it isn't true that the way to cure a hangover is to drink more alcohol."

Ryan nodded. Right, he was grounded. "Don't go anywhere. Don't drink any more. Got it."

"OK. Good." Mr. Ward looked a little like he wanted to believe Ryan, and didn't quite, but didn't have much of a choice. "I'll see you guys for dinner. I might be a little late."

"OK."

After Luke's Dad left, Ryan snuggled down in the comfortable bed with the clean sheets and the clean clothes and the clean him. It was definitely an improvement over the bunk at the police station. Ryan drifted off to sleep. Mercifully, he wasn't kept awake by the same thoughts that had been running over and over in his head all morning about Theresa and the baby.

A few hours later, Ryan was awakened by the phone ringing. He checked the clock -- it was lunch time. He wondered if maybe it was Carson checking up on him. He got up and headed out to the living room where the answering machine was. By the time he got there, the answering machine had picked up.

"Ryan, Ryan, it's Carson Ward. If you're there, pick up."

Ryan sighed and picked up the phone. "Hey, Mr. Ward."

"Hey, Ryan. How are you doing?"

Right, like that's why he called. "Better."

"If you're feeling up to it, you should have some lunch."

"Yeah, OK."

"OK... well... if you need anything, you have my cell phone number, right?"

"Um... actually, no, I don't." It would have come in handy this morning if he did...

"Oh, OK, let me give it to you."

After Carson gave Ryan his number, he didn't seem to know anything else to talk about. 'Um... OK... well, I have to get back to work. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yup." Ryan rolled his eyes. Subtle.

"OK. Bye, then."

"Bye."

After Ryan hung up, he did a self-check and realized that he _was_ feeling better, and maybe even a little hungry. Having lunch didn't sound so bad. He hadn't eaten since like lunch yesterday. So Ryan went back to the guest room and got dressed, not in the clothes he was wearing yesterday, though, of course. They were still dirty. He made a mental note to do some laundry later.

Ryan headed out to the kitchen. He took a couple of Advil, just in case they might help with what was left of his headache. Then he made himself a sandwich and settled down in front of the TV in the living room. He vaguely thought about calling Seth or Luke, but figured that Luke's Dad would have told them that he was back, so they'd call if they wanted to talk. And same with Sandy. Carson had said that he had talked to Sandy, so obviously Sandy knew he was here. If he wanted to talk -- and Ryan was sure that Sandy would want to talk at some point today -- he would call Ryan.

So for now, Ryan just settled down to eat his lunch and veg out in front of the TV, hoping that there would be something on the TV that could keep his mind off things.

* * *

To be continued. 


	8. Chapter 8 : Fin

Title: Trouble in Portland

Summary: What if Ryan had a harder time dealing with the loss of the baby in episode 2.01 _The Distance_?

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C_. No profit is taken from this story.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

By mid-afternoon, Ryan was back lying in bed staring at the ceiling.

He tried to watch TV, but it seemed like everything that he watched reminded him of Theresa and the baby. Every kid's show, every family show... Even when he flipped past a 24-hour cable news channel, they were doing a story on some murder, and they were showing a house similar to Theresa's mother's in Chino. A house that he would never be going back to.

Ryan tried to play video games instead but found that the noises, the constant motion of the picture, and the concentration needed just made his headache flair back up again.

At that point, he seriously considered raiding Carson's liquor cabinet, and even went so far as to go and find it. Carson actually had a lock on it. Who had a lock on their liquor cabinet? Nobody in Newport Beach or Chino, that's for sure. Not that Ryan couldn't have jimmied that flimsy lock, but he decided that alcohol wasn't the solution to his problem. It had caused him enough trouble already.

He even thought about going out, even though he was "grounded", but unless he wanted to do the same thing as yesterday and find a party to get drunk at -- which he didn't -- he had nowhere to go. The story of his life.

So now he was lying in the Wards' guest room number two, wishing that he'd never had that sandwich for lunch. He knew better than to try and eat when he was upset. Now the sandwich was making him nauseous and he was trying hard to avoid having to throw up.

Of course, the downside of lying in bed with nothing to do was that now his mind wouldn't settle down and leave everything well enough alone. He kept thinking about the life that he had planned with Theresa and their child which was now gone in a heartbeat -- or rather the lack of one.

* * *

Shortly after 5 O'clock, Ryan heard the front door slam and heard Seth's and Luke's voices. Great. They were home. Just what he needed. As predictable as ever, within minutes, there was a knock on Ryan's door. He didn't answer. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He'd already had enough of talking, and answering questions, and being lectured, for one day. And he still had that talk with Sandy ahead of him.

Maybe if he didn't respond, Seth would go away. Right. After a moment, there was another knock and this time Seth didn't wait for an answer, he just went ahead and opened the door and poked his head in.

"Ryan? You up?"

Ryan continued to stare at the ceiling. That didn't deter Seth. He came right in.

"Hey, man, good to see you back. How are you doing?"

"Great." Ryan told him, trying to make it drip with sarcasm.

"Good. Good." Seth sounded uncomfortable. Mission accomplished. "Um... Luke and I were going to fire up the grill --"

"I'm not hungry."

"Right, right, of course."

Even though Ryan couldn't really _see_ Seth, since he was staring up at the ceiling, he could practically see him wringing his hands and shifting his weight back and forth like he did when he was unsure of what to say.

After a moment, Seth said, "OK, well, I'll just leave you to... um... whatever."

And then, mercifully, he left and shut the door behind him. Ryan turned on his side and shut his eyes. He must have dozed off without realizing it because the next thing he knew there was a knock on his door which woke him up.

"Ryan?" Carson's voice.

Ryan figured he'd better answer this time. "Yeah. Come in."

Carson opened the door and came over to the side of the bed. He held out the cordless phone. "Sandy wants to talk to you."

Ryan looked at the phone, then up at Carson, then back down at the phone again. He wasn't really up for being yelled at by Sandy right now, but then again he didn't want to get yelled at by Sandy, ever. Ryan sighed and sat up in bed, then took the phone from Carson. He waited until Carson left, then brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hey."

"Hey, kid. How are you doing?"

"Terrible."

"I can imagine. Carson told me about Theresa losing the baby and everything. I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

"But you know that getting drunk is not going to solve anything, or make you feel better. What were you thinking?"

Ryan sighed. "I don't know, Sandy, I don't know. It was stupid."

"You're darn right, it was stupid. You got picked up by the police, Ryan, the police. Do you know how bad things could have gone? If they had turned you over to Child Services, we could have lost you. And you're lucky that juvenile records aren't visible outside the state, otherwise you would have violated your probation and spent the rest of your time until you turned eighteen in juvenile detention."

Ryan didn't say anything. He knew how bad things could have gone. He couldn't justify his actions.

"Ryan? Say something."

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry. I screwed up."

"Yeah, you screwed up. " Ryan could hear Sandy sigh. "We're gonna talk about this more when you get home, you can be sure of that. _And_ you're grounded."

Ryan said, almost to himself, "Home."

"Yeah, home, with us. If you're not going back to Theresa's, then you're coming back to Newport. I'm going to book tickets for you and Seth on the next available flight, probably tomorrow."

"Seth? I thought you told him that he could stay here."

"I did, but he'll come home if you come home, which you are, so he is."

"Mmm." Yeah, that sounded like Seth.

"I'll call you guys later with the flight info."

"OK."

"And, Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"It's going to be good to have you home. Seth, too."

"Thanks."

* * *

On Tuesday, Kirsten and Sandy both took the day off work to meet Seth and Ryan's plane from Portland.

Kirsten was so excited to have the boys finally come home that she was practically jumping out of her skin, pacing around just outside the security checkpoint, waiting for them to show up. Sandy grabbed her hand to stop her pacing. She looked over at him and smiled.

"They're coming home, Sandy."

Sandy smiled back and squeezed her hand.

When they finally came through, Kirsten yelped for joy and ran into Seth's arms, since he was first through the gate. She squeezed him hard, and he squeezed her right back.

"I'm so glad you're home, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mom."

Then she let Seth go and went over to Ryan. She was more gentle with him, since she knew that he was hurting. She put her arms around him carefully and was happy when he returned the gesture. She rubbed his back with her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Ryan."

"Thanks."

After a moment, she let him go and looked into his eyes. "But I'm glad you're home."

This time he smiled his thanks with a small, sad smile, then looked away. Kirsten put her arm through his and turned to look at Seth and Sandy.

"Let's get your bags and go home."

As the family of four headed off to the baggage claim, Kirsten told Seth and Ryan, "You guys have missed the first two days of school, but I called Harbor and you're registered. You just have to go to the office tomorrow morning and sign some papers."

Seth replied, "OK." And Ryan nodded.

As they walked, Kirsten and Ryan lagged behind Seth and Sandy. Seth was talking animatedly about something or another to Sandy. Kirsten could see that Ryan was maybe even more quiet and introverted than usual.

"Are you OK?"

Ryan looked at her. "Yeah. It's just..."

"What?"

Ryan glanced ahead at Sandy and Seth then back at Kirsten. "It's so weird being back with you guys. I mean, I had this whole other life, and now it's just... gone."

Kirsten put her arm around Ryan. "I know, sweetie, but things will get back to normal soon, you'll see."

* * *

**The End.**


End file.
